We could be saying goodbye to springing forward and falling back.

People in Ireland could be changing their clocks for the last time next year after a new proposal to scrap daylight savings entirely. Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, proposed putting an end to the seasonal clock changes across Europe as he made his State of the Union address today [September 12]. He said:

"We all say in soap-box speeches that we want to be big on big things and small on small things. But there is no applause when EU law dictates that Europeans have to change the clocks twice a year. "The Commission is today proposing to change this. Clock-changing must stop. Member States should themselves decide whether their citizens live in summer- or wintertime. "It is a question of subsidiarity. I expect the Parliament and Council will share this view and find solutions that work for our internal market. We are out of time."

An EU Commission public consultation found that 84 per cent of people want the twice-a-year changing of the clocks scrapped. It was previously thought daylight savings may be scrapped by 2021, but it looks like it could be a lot sooner. As Junker insisted that "clock changing must stop", the Commission's proposal would mean that the last time the clocks would be changed is on March 31, 2019. And at the next time when the clocks would normally change again - on October 27, 2019 - member states would decide whether they want to change the clocks. Under the Commission's proposal, each one of the member states would have to decide by April 2019 if they want to stay on permanent summertime or permanent wintertime. On the proposal, Commissioner for Transport, Violeta Bulc said:

"We are proposing to put an end to seasonal clock changes as of next year. This very ambitious timetable will allow citizens to reap the benefits without delay. "We are now inviting Member States and businesses to make the necessary preparations to ensure a coordinated approach across the EU."